Currently, educators teach the four basic arithmetical operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) to young children through the use of paper/pencil tasks of equations, through the use of manipulatives, such as flash cards and rulers, and through the use of different primary mechanical calculators and other tools. Today, there is great emphasis on the use of electronic calculators, especially in math, for calculating, learning and drilling the four basic operations. However, by using a regular calculator, the user is able to find-out the correct or incorrect answer but not the understanding of the method of regrouping and carry-over in the base ten system. Further more, the user finds it difficult to understand the logical manipulation of numbers and thus has difficulty developing a firm basis for mental computation. Current methods of teaching math on electronic calculators to young children is counter-intuitive and does not satisfy their naturally inquisitive character to fully understand the four basic math concepts and operations.
Children exposed to learning the four basic math concepts and skills at the age of 4½-5 years and older are just beginning to develop their logical/abstract thinking skills. They also have the ability to lay a firm basis for their flourishing mental computation skill upon which their future math success is based. However, it is not uncommon to encounter a young adult who has difficulty performing the basic arithmetical operations in the absence of an electronic calculator, especially if one has to add two two-digit numbers. Clearly, there is a lack of fundamentals of the basic logical mental computation skill, which can be and should be developed from early childhood.
Usually, children learn best when information is presented through a combination of visualization, hearing and touch. In general children have different learning styles and therefore they may be categorized as “visual learners”, “auditory learners” or “tactile learners.” Some children may have particular deficits in visual, auditory or tactile processing which are more or less serious. An increasing number of children have ADD Attention Deficit Disorder or ADHD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder that may partially foreclose a mode of learning. But when children are able to hold and manipulate a math calculator that provides a built in method for adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing along with visual, aural and/or tactile stimulation, math concepts have a far better chance of being understood and retained.
There are a variety of different colorful calculators on the market and used at schools with display screens, input keys and function controls. However, none of those calculators display the method and provide visual, aural, and tactile stimuli while the child uses the calculator.
The calculator MathShark™ for ages 6 and up displays math problems both in horizontal and vertical form as so called “flash cards” where users are to use the key pad to enter the answers to the presented math problem. Further, it is equipped with two auditory sounds and green and red light to indicate the correctness of the answers. Although capable of more functions such as decimals, fractions and percents the MathShark™ is not equipped with a method for learning the process of mental computation along with a visual display of graphic images. After a short while a child using this calculator becomes uninterested in performing the “desiccated” exercises and moves on to more interesting activities. The MathShark™ Guide for Teachers and Parents on page 2 states that the product enables students “to sharpen their mental math skills—math performed mentally rather than on paper—from memorization to estimation to mental computation.” Thus, MathShark™ is a tool only to compute and practice computation skills using flash cards. MathShark™ fails to teach the fundamental logical steps required in mental computation using the four basic arithmetical operations.
Another learning tool, called the Leapster™, displays in a big display screen colorful presentations of math problems, including math problems in a “flash card” form. A visual representation of a bunny is seen hopping from the river bank and to and from a log in an effort to make the user choose the correct answer from the answers displayed on the log. This tool is more interesting to children, but it provides only a drill in a flashcard form for children and some visual entertainment. Leapster™ fails to teach the fundamental logical steps required in mental computation using the four basic arithmetical operations. Leapster™ is a tool for practicing by presumption, not by understanding and learning the logical method of number manipulation.
There is an unmet need for an electronic calculating device having a graphic display and a method for teaching the four basic arithmetical operations to young children in order to teach children the fundamentals of mental computation at a young age by utilizing their near-instinctive understanding of the four basic operations. There is an unmet need for a basic primary math instruction calculator that provides visual, aural, and/or tactile stimuli as the child uses the calculator to learn, to comprehend the meaning of and to solve math problems.